Celeborn At A Glance
by TolkienScribe
Summary: Celeborn was not an easy person to decipher at a glance, but perhaps a look into the events of his life could give an insight of who he was as the years passed him by. From his childhood to his sailing. One-shot. Complete. Please read and review! :)


**Author's Note:**

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**This is not romance and is not to be taken as such. Please respect this viewpoint.**

**Constructive criticism is welcome. Any form of abuse is not appreciated.**

**Enjoy! :)**

**~S~**

**Awakening**

His father was among the first elves to awaken. And then he settled in Thingol's kingdom, was wed and had Celeborn and his brother for sons.

He only ever remembered peace and comfort in his childhood. His father taught him to hunt, and to be wary of predators while he hunted.

He remembered watching the stars at night, listening to his mother's voice as she sang, chasing after his brother while they raced up the trees. In the Third Age, not many would have expected that of him when they saw him and considered him to be a mature elf for all his years. His childhood, in fact, had been wonderfully innocent. Then again, they lived in peace and nothing troubled them overmuch.

That was their awakening, and in Arda, that was all that awakening meant to them. But as the years passed by, a wiser Celeborn found that there were different types of awakening. It started from waking from sleep to waking into reality.

The worst awakening in his life was when _they _came.

oOo

**Amusement**

He did not hesitate in lifting his sword and pointing it to his follower.

"I thought King Thingol's kin would be more welcoming." She said coolly.

"I thought the Noldorin would show a little more respect for their hosts and not turn up their noses to us as if we are lesser folk." He replied, his tone matching hers. Her eyebrows raised a fraction. She had not expected him to challenge him back. He did not lower his sword.

"Am I a threat to you?"

"Aren't all Noldorin a threat?"

"That is a matter of perspective."

"Meaning?"

"I could be seeing you as a threat." Her bright eyes glanced meaningfully at the sharp blade still pointing at her throat. He tilted his head, as if to access her.

"How can I perceive you as anything other than a threat if you are cloaked and hooded?"

She smiled, acknowledging his point and raised her hands to pull back her hood.

She looked very different from many she-elves. Her eyes were gray but bright, as if a light shone from them. The color of her hair was hard to tell, for it seemed to be a blend of silver and golden. She was fair to look upon. She raised one eyebrow in a challenge. She was proud, he noted.

"Am I still a threat?"

He blinked once and then sheathed his sword.

"Not for now, nay, you are not."

"Not now? Does it mean I can become one later?"

"It depends on what happens later."

She smiled genuinely this time, thoroughly amused by his answer.

"I was told you could be temperate." She said.

"That is a fine thing coming from a Noldorin."

"What does that supposed to mean, my lord?"

"Are the Noldorin not known for declaring Oaths on a whim when emotions suit them?"

"Who has said I am one of them who had taken the Oath?"

"It never needs any saying."

"Perhaps I came simply to see Arda in its glory."

This time both were smiling, amused at their game of words. She tilted her head, studying him as he had studied her. He was tall, fierce-looking, and intelligent if he had kept up with her words for so long. His hair was silver and he kept it simple in a leather band. His sword was hooked to his belt and his clothes were gray.

"Arda or its people?" He asked.

"I do not think I will answer that."

"But I wish to hear its answer."

"Ah, but I do not wish to reply."

"Indulge me."

"Taking off my hood was enough indulgence." She replied coolly, stepping back and pulling on her hood. "We will speak again, I hope."

"Is that an order?"

"That is a request."

"Ah, but is it an obligatory one?"

"It depends."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, mimicking hers perfectly.

"It depends on later." She replied, laughing lightly as she turned away.

"What is your name?" he could not resist calling out.

"Can my face be so easily forgotten that you need my name?"

"Do you not tell me your name because you do not have one or you do not wish to give one?"

"If I say both, then what will you reply?"

He tilted his head as he looked her over. She did the same thing. The pair smiled, noting the similarity in their stances.

"Alatáriel," he said softly. "Well you do not wish to tell me your name, for whatever reason. So I will give you one, Lady Galadriel."

She looked at him strangely for so long, he wondered if he said or did something wrong.

"Is something the matter, my lady?" he asked.

"Nay, it is just that you used a name that is closer to me than the one I was given in Valinor." She murmured.

"Ah, so you 'do' have a name!"

Alatáriel laughed and turned away.

oOo

**Broken Ties**

"Celeborn! I need your help! My wife!"

There was heavy smell of smoke in the air, and the nighttime sky was lit with the fires that burned down the trees and the houses. He heard people screaming, in fear and in pain as they were either consumed by the fires or cut down by the Noldorin weapons.

He turned, seeing Oropher and Thranduil frantically make to their house, that was in flames. They had spent the night with the soldiers, and they were still in their full clothes and weapons, though they bore no armor.

"Celeborn! My wife!"

Oropher's wife was trapped in the house. He could not hear her screams. Perhaps her voice was lost in the noise around them. Celeborn knew his duty to his kin. He started to run to him.

"Celeborn!"

Galadriel's voice stopped him and he turned to her.

"The Silmaril! They are after the Silmaril! Dior's family is in danger!"

"Celeborn!" Oropher's shout called him again. He heard Thranduil's shriek, trying to fling himself into the burning house to find his mother.

His heart was torn, loyalty to Dior's family, who was his kin or to Oropher, who was also his kin. Then the indecision passed and Celeborn regretfully turned away, shouldering his axe as he ran to Dior's palace.

He could still hear Oropher's shout of anger and hurt behind him, and the deafening crash of the house as it fell to the ground. Oropher's wife burned alive that day in her own house.

Oropher never forgave, and he never forgot.

oOo

**Family**

She was soft in his arms and so small that the layers of blankets made her look more fragile and weaker. She breathed softly, tired. He cradled her gently in his arms.

She had his hair; the tufts on her head were silver, while her eyes matched her mother's. They were bright gray, as if a light shone from within. He had only seen the babe's eyes once. The babe trembled a little in his arms and then shifted feebly, still not used to her surroundings.

"Celeborn-"

He raised his head to see Galadriel's tired eyes looking at him.

"Hush, go to sleep."

"My daughter-"

"She is safe."

Knowing that a mother would not rest until she had her child with her, he silently placed the bundle beside his wife.

"We need a name…"

"Celebrían."

"Precisely."

oOo

**Seeds Of Hatred**

"Oropher, please-"

"Leave me alone."

"Oropher-"

"You come to me when I have no need of you." Celeborn stepped back in shock to see the intensity of anger wedged in his kin's eyes. "You come to me when I have no need of you. I know you will abandon me when there is a need of you."

"I would never-"

"Leave me be."

"Oropher, for all the times we have spent as kin-"

"I do not acknowledge you as my kin anymore, so get you gone."

"Oropher!"

The two elves stared at one another, the looks of anger and confusion evident.

"I would help you." he said softly. "I would have helped you."

Oropher sighed.

"Get you gone, Celeborn. The hurts are still too raw to heal."

Celeborn felt his heart ache, but he turned and left.

oOo

**The Marshes**

"I cannot leave him here." Celeborn said, stroking Oropher's cold forehead.

"We must, we have too many wounded with us."

"I cannot… I cannot. He is far too dear, though we did not part in kind words."

"My lord," there was a hint of steel in the words. "We must. We are too burdened as it is."

Celeborn had shed tears many times. But he had only truly cried in two occasions. Once when he had left Doriath after its Sacking, and the second time when Oropher was killed and he sat beside his body. It was hard to imagine the time that had passed and all their fights now seemed trivial.

"I cannot leave him here."

"My lord-"

"I cannot."

He heard a frustrated sigh and the elf left him. Celeborn did not speak. He sat there, stroking Oropher's cold forehead. Even in eternal sleep, Oropher looked peaceful, his features relaxed though the fatal blow was still evident upon Oropher's chest.

"Celeborn."

He looked up to see Thranduil standing there. Grief was evident on the elf's face, and he seemed older, wearier.

"We have to go." Thranduil said softly, his voice carrying no emotion.

"We cannot leave your father behind."

"We must." Thranduil said. "I know my father will not mind it. We have a war to win, a quest to finish." Thranduil's jaw clenched briefly before speaking. "Leave my father to sleep."

Celeborn looked down on his kin's body, still stroking Oropher's forehead.

"I regretted the night when your mother died." Celeborn said in hushed tones.

"I know."

With a great care, he lifted Oropher's head from his lap and settled it gently on the ground.

"We have no time to bury them." Thranduil called out to the others. "Cover them with their cloaks, and let the fallen sleep here."

"Amongst all this carnage?" One of the elves asked furiously. "You are mad!"

"I am your king," Thranduil said, asserting his power. "Mad or no, I will see you alive to the end, Halion!"

They did as they were told, but all of them grieved as they left their beloved friends and family to sleep peacefully. They moved on till they won the War.

When they made back for their homeland, they had taken another route. And years passed by until one day he found his wife on the ground in front of her mirror, hand pressed on her mouth in shock and horror.

"Galadriel?" he raced to her, checking to see if she was well. "Galadriel, Galadriel, what did you see?"

She raised her head to meet his eyes, her look now holding a mixture of sadness and compassion.

"The graves of our fallen, Celeborn, the marshes have spread. Our fallen's graves are no more."

That was when his nightmares started.

oOo

**Suitor**

He enjoyed irritating Elrond. It was refreshing. Nay, he was not overbearing, for it would break his character. But he enjoyed ignoring Elrond's presence, which irked the younger elf to no end.

But the elf was polite and he was focused. This was something he liked in Elrond. He did not doubt that the elf was bound to be a natural leader.

He still enjoyed irking him.

So he sat comfortably, flicking the pages of the book in his hand as he read. He knew full well that across him sat Elrond, who was also going through his book. The other elf was starting to grow impatient, but Celeborn refused to speak to him yet.

It was far too much fun.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the fine robes of autumn red and gold that went well with his black hair and sharp, fair features. He noted how he sat rigidly, like a warrior in a battle. He could not blame Elrond, for he has actually witnessed battles, but with Sauron defeated, the elf needed to learn to relax.

Two more hours passed. Celeborn was deliberately reading slowly, though he was starting to become curious as to why Elrond was here. The elf was unusually silent, as if he was really waiting to be acknowledged.

Just then, Galadriel entered. She made for the bookshelves, then stopped as she looked enquiringly at Celeborn first and then Elrond.

"Have you not spoken to Celeborn about Celebrían yet?" She questioned, making Celeborn twitch in surprise.

"What?" He asked, voice slightly higher than usual.

Suddenly, he lost all humor in irking Elrond.

oOo

**Laughter**

He enjoyed going to Imladris, where he would hear his grandchildren's laughter echo in the corridors and hear his daughter sing with her mother as they sewed together. He often spent time discussing with Elrond, but it was always a comfortable setting in Imladris.

The twins were always a handful, and Arwen was also the same though in a different way.

"I am sure my foster-fathers are laughing somewhere." Elrond complained once, sitting down after a tiring chase to get the twins to behave. "I do not recall being this lively with my brother."

Celeborn suspected those who had seen Elrond and Elros as children would beg to differ.

He heard a shriek of laughter and quickly turned to the study door which was half-open. He saw Erestor standing at the doorway, with one twin grabbing hold of his waist on each side, and Arwen clinging to his back with her arms around the advisor's neck. Elrond burst out laughing at the sight, and Erestor gave a rueful smile.

"They want a story." He explained.

"Well come here, children." Celeborn said clearly, making sure he could be heard over Elrond's laughter. "I will tell you a story how your parents met."

Elrond's laughter immediately died in his throat.

oOo

**Grief**

"Daughter!"

He never remembered this much fear and helplessness in his life as he knelt by his daughter's bed. The room was dark and the she-elf that lay on the bed was merely a shadow of what she had truly been. Her silver hair that she had inherited from her father lay limp and dull, their normal shine gone. Her face was horribly scarred, and she looked gaunt and ill. Her eyes were shut and there was barely any indication of life.

He heard a dim wail of grief as Galadriel sat down at the edge of the bed, sobbing as she took Celebrían's hand into her own. Instinct took over and Celeborn raised his hand up and rested it on his wife's arm, soothing her as much as he could.

"Mother?"

The voice was too weak, too broken and hoarse to be their daughter's. her eyes had opened into slits.

"We are here," Galadriel said. "You are safe."

Celebrían made a weak move towards her father, who immediately got up and took her into his arms to cradle her.

"I cannot stay here." She whispered to him. "Please… do not force me."

"I understand."

He looked up to meet Galadriel's eyes and both knew it was time to let her go… at least for the time being.

oOo

**All shall fade**

The forest was dying. He could feel it. The leaves were slowly blackening, the barks were greying, as the power that held it together broke away.

"Celeborn," Galadriel called him.

"We will meet on the other shores across the Sea." Celeborn said, looking up at the trees.

He felt his wife touch his shoulder.

"Will you not come with me?"

"I cannot." He whispered. "Do not ask it of me. Let me see Lorien to its end."

He heard a sigh, and his wife's hand lifted. Suddenly, he could not bear it. He immediately turned.

"Galadriel-"

"We will meet again." She said, smiling sadly. "So do not bid me farewell."

"I was not going to."

"Does that mean you will come?"

"What makes you sure that I would?"

"I am your wife."

"Ah, but that can be a subject of fleeing from you rather than following you."

She tilted her head in amusement, and he smiled a little. It felt as if they were back in Doriath, where they first met under the trees and engaged in this playful but quizzical banter.

But she surprised him by turning away.

"You will not answer me?" he called after her, suddenly not wanting her to go.

"If I leave the conversation unfinished, I know for sure you will follow me!" She called back. He laughed.

oOo

**The End**

He heard the seagulls shriek above him. The ship sailed peacefully over the calm waters.

"Do you think Legolas can manage?" Elrohir asked him. Celeborn glanced at his grandson. "His people are the only ones left after all," he continued. "I am wondering if he can manage."

"He will," Celeborn said. "His time will come, and strong as he is, he is not strong to ignore the sea when she calls."

The two elves stared into the waters in silence. Then Elrohir turned his head and looked up.

"He has not come down yet." Elrohir said. Celeborn followed his grandson's gaze. There, standing in the eagle's nest was Elladan. The elf's hair blew wildly in the wind, keen eyes searching for the hint of land.

"We have all waited for the Undying Lands." Celeborn said.

Truth be told, Celeborn did not remember much of the rest of their journey, save for the growing anxiety and impatience. And at last, they heard the shout when land was sighted.

They had not expected such a loud welcome when their ship made port. When they came on land, Celeborn only saw a blur of people, whom he had all recognized. He saw his parents, his wife, his wife's parents and siblings, his siblings, his daughter, his son by marriage, his kin and his friends. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he did not know which to greet first, so he simply opened his arms wide and threw them around as many people as he could fit in his arms. it rose a lot of laughter among them.

"Celeborn, you rogue, get your choking grip off me!"

He froze as he heard that familiar voice, and his arms went lax. The speaker pulled away quickly, straightening his hair and smoothing his robes before casting him an amused youthful look, free from doubt, shadow and burden.

"You did not need to strangle me, kin." Oropher said, raising an eyebrow once he straightened his collar that had gotten askew in Celeborn's sudden act. "I have forgiven and forgotten."

Oropher's words did not even fully sink in even as Celeborn let out a laugh.

They were home at last.

**~S~**

**Author's Note:**

Another Character study because it is about time I introduced him into my stories and he was being a pain.

Celeborn here is more or less moulded more towards the movie side than to the book side because Celeborn's personality was hard for me to guess when I read his conversations and everything. His background story with Galadriel gave me a hint that he more or less was a little playful with his wife, considering he was the first to call her Galadriel (yes, yes, I know it is a Sindarized from of Altariel, but still). And to match her pride, I wanted to make him equally strong.

Historical aspects must have been an impact on Celeborn, considering how many of them were related to him in one way or the other.

In the last bit, "The End", I wanted to add a little bit of carefree and easygoing attitude so that Valinor's effect can be clearly shown.

Review!


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